After leaving Tulum, we made a quick run back up to Playa del Carmen, where we took the ferry out to Cozumel.
We discovered they had an awesome holiday deal going on (let me remind you, it was the week of Christmas!). Instead of the $700+ peso fee to take our van across, we paid only $300 for the van and all passengers were free! Sweet!
We met up with friends from Alaska for dinner (who live in Cozumel in the winters), and were then invited to stay in their home. 2 hotels nights saved! The following day was very relaxing, and they took us snorkeling off of the Western Shore. I was surprised that there weren’t sandy beaches on the Western side of the island, and that it is mainly known for its reef and diving. Since our friend is a dedicated diver, this is paradise for him.
Cozumel was very simple, had a great little shopping street, some nice restaurants, and yet some conveniences of big grocery stores, etc. Our friends live in a neighborhood that was once lined with sidewalks in a nice newly-planned community. Rumor has it that a hurricane whipped through Cozumel, and when the city was short of power wires, they came and took them from their little community. So, all of the houses in the area are now off the grid. The community fell quiet and there are now very few people that live there. The road to get out to their community is so overgrown with the jungle that the trees literally form an arch over the road. You can no longer see the sidewalks, and our friends report that even if you were to clear the jungle from a lot, it would be full and overgrown within months.
The morning we planned to leave, Jared woke up early and went for a solitary drive to the Eastern side of Cozumel. It is not frequented by tourists, and probably few locals go there, even. He said it was beautiful!
We then packed up the van and made a run to the ferry, arriving about 45 minutes early. Apparently it was not early enough, and we were cut off with less than 10 cars in front of us. The next ferry was scheduled for 4-5 hours later. Basically, we lost a day! Since we couldn’t move our van from the line (nor did we want to with the long holiday lineup to fit on the ferry), we left it parked, and caught a taxi to a nearby mall to get lunch and see a movie. I took the girls to see the newer Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie (dubbed in Spanish, as all kids movies in Mexico are), and Jared went back to the van to wait to be allowed to purchase our ticket.
I had to whip out my camera when I realized the movie theater sells caramel popcorn in the traditional popcorn poppers.
I was also astonished that their Nerds (my favorite) were ridiculously expensive. $23 pesos a piece? That’s almost $2 USD! Yikes!
After the movie the girls and I walked back to the car (realizing that it was silly to have taken a taxi in the first place…since it was so close), and we jumped on the ferry back to Playa Del Carmen. Upon arrival, we made a bee line for Cancun!
It was dark upon our arrival, so when we saw a Gallerias Mall (the high-end malls that dot Mexico), we decided to stop their for a cheap dinner at the food court. After grabbing some cheap Chinese food in the mall, we did a fast run-around looking for stores that could sell the products we represent (every trip is a business trip!). We didn’t have much luck, but at least our fortune cookie predicted a nice future in store for us: “You will have a peaceful and happy life”.
Inside the mall we saw some wacky giant electronic animals that they could ride around in the open. We relented and paid the $20 pesos for this one-time treat.
Within the first 10 seconds, Maiya ran into Ethan on the stroller and sent Ethan crashing down (while I was trying to take a video), causing all eyes to turn on us. It was classic. After getting everyone back up, they had a great time.
As we returned to the paid parking attached to the mall, we quickly discovered we had locked our keys inside. Sweet.
Jared returned into the mall to track down a metal hanger to buy (the mall had an attached grocery store). While he was gone for quite awhile, I explained our plight to some security guards who I thought we help out in some way. Nope. Nada.
When Jared finally returned, he brought with him a big metal shower rod.
“What do you think you are going to do with that?” I asked.
“It’s all they had! I’m going to smash it with some bricks and flatten it.” And he tried. He went to an empty work site across the street, and proceeded to try to smash the brand new shower rod with large bricks. Problem was, the rod outwitted the bricks. He crumbled the bricks to bits, and barely made a dent in the rod. A concerned Mexican woman stood next to me on the corner across the street, watching him bash the rod, and surely wondering why the crazy Gringo was destroying his new purchase. I didn’t bother to explain.
When we returned to the car a parking attendant fortunately offered his help. The rod was so big and round that we couldn’t even begin to wedge it through the door. The parking attendant helped wedge the door open with his hands (at the obvious risk of his fingers), and slowly but surely we got that rod in.
Miraculously, we were able to press the unlock button and get in our car. I gave that man a very nice tip for helping us out.
But seriously…a shower rod? Who knew! Don’t try this at home…
We found a cheap hotel in Cancun for $350 pesos (less than $30), and decided to explore in the morning. As morning dawned, we found Cancun was a bit disappointing, to be honest. The whole coast seemed locked in by huge towering resorts, and the only shopping near the resorts were in big malls with fancy name brands. Not our idea of culture and character.
We did visit one gigantic mall near the resorts and had lunch at a restaurant on the dock. We were pleased to see a small pirate ship docked there.
I also thought the restaurant’s supply of napkins was genius.
No doubt, the water is beautiful in Cancun, but unless you’re going to a resort…you’re not going to see it. I say don’t bother with Cancun…a visit to Tulum is a much better Mexican experience!
- Yukatan Road Trip Day 14 – Cancun
